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Prevalence and diversity of Hepatozoon canis in naturally infected dogs in Japanese islands and peninsulas

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Abstract

Canine hepatozoonosis is a worldwide protozoal disease caused by Hepatozoon canis and Hepatozoon americanum and is transmitted by ixodid ticks, Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma spp., respectively. H. canis infection is widespread in Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia, including Japan. The objective of this study was to study the distribution pattern and diversity of H. canis in naturally infected dogs in nine Japanese islands and peninsulas. Therefore, 196 hunting dogs were randomly sampled during the period from March to September 2011 and the ages and sexes were identified. Direct microscopy using Giemsa-stained blood smears revealed H. canis gametocytes in the peripheral blood of 45 (23.6 %) dogs. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on EDTA-anticoagulated blood, initially with the common primer set (B18S-F and B18S-R) amplifying the 1,665-bp portion of the 18S rRNA gene, and then with the specific primer set (HepF and HepR) amplifying about 660 bp fragments of the same gene. Based on PCR, 84 (42.9 %) dogs were positive using the common primer and 81 (41.3 %) were positive using the specific primer. The current investigation indicated that all screened areas, except for Sado Island and Atsumi Peninsula, were infected. Yaku Island had the highest infection rate (84.6 % in males and 100.0 % in females), while Ishigaki Island showed the lowest infection rates (8.3 % in males and 17.7 % in females). Both sexes were infected with no significant difference. However, diversity of infection among the surveyed islands and peninsulas was significantly different (P < 0.05). Although H. canis has previously been reported in dogs in Japan, the higher infection rate described in the current study and the diversity of infection in a wide range of islands strongly encourage prospective studies dealing with the prevention and treatment of the infection in dogs, as well as control of ticks.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan and was also supported by a grant from Hokkaido University, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt

    Khaled Mohamed El-Dakhly

  2. Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan

    Khaled Mohamed El-Dakhly, Minami Goto, Kaori Noishiki, El-Shaymaa El-Nahass, Akihiro Hirata, Hiroki Sakai, Ahmed El-Morsey & Tokuma Yanai

  3. Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt

    El-Shaymaa El-Nahass

  4. Department of Veterinary Parasitological Diseases, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan

    Yasuhiro Takashima

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  1. Khaled Mohamed El-Dakhly
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  2. Minami Goto
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  3. Kaori Noishiki
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Correspondence to Tokuma Yanai.

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El-Dakhly, K.M., Goto, M., Noishiki, K. et al. Prevalence and diversity of Hepatozoon canis in naturally infected dogs in Japanese islands and peninsulas. Parasitol Res 112, 3267–3274 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3505-1

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